It unveiled a 60-second teaser for its 2012 Super Bowl ad that was nothing more or less than a bunch of dogs barking to the tune of the march from Star Wars -- the soundtrack of last year's ad coyly named "The Bark Side." No dialogue, just dogs. The Drive On mascot loved it.

And did you notice they are all wearing Star Wars gear.

Not only does the teaser ad recall last year's ad, it also honors a basic rule of Super Bowl advertising: The only thing that trumps sex is a cute animal.

VW has nothing to say about the actual ad, yet -- except that the ad WILLl tout the redone 2012 Beetle -- it's a tease, after all. And no part of this tease will be in the real ad -- though VW and agency Deutsch (which also did Darth Vader) are nuts if one of these dogs doesn't get a cameo.

By the way, one place the teaser aired was in an episode of ABC's "The Middle" comedy that was written entirely around a VW Passat, and has a Super Bowl theme as well. There were other VW ads in the show, but the show itself was a long-form ad for the Passat.

The comedy's working-class Indiana family babysits their neighbor's new Passat while they are in Indianapolis for pre-Super Bowl events. The mom, Frankie, ditches her Neon beater to drive the Passat, and she and her family spend the rest of show demonstrating Passat features and lauding its upscale feel.